The inventor of the present invention has invented several automobile accelerator and brake pedal devices having a transversely operable accelerator and a vertically operable brake pedal. These pedal devices are disclosed in JP8-142817(A) and JP9-136559(A) as the representative ones.
These known pedal devices allow a driver's right foot only to operate the accelerator and brake pedal parts separately. Specifically assuming that the right foot is put on the pedal device in the rest position, the foot is made to turn clockwise about the heel for operating the accelerator pedal part. When the driver takes an instinctive stepping-on motion by reflex action in an emergency, the stepping-on action is applied on the brake pedal part of the device without fail. This effectively prevents the traffic accidents which would be caused by stepping on an accelerator pedal instead of a brake pedal by mistake in a conventional control system wherein both pedals are arranged apart from each other.
However, when braking the automobile equipped with the pedal device, the driver should turn counterclockwise his right foot about the heel to the rest or brake-operative position releasing the accelerator, and then he steps on the brake pedal part, thereby actuating the brake pedal part without mistakes. The switching from the accelerator-operative to brake-operative position causes a short, but still distinctive length of delay prior to the braking action.
Such a delay is much shorter than that caused by shifting the right foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal in the conventional or ordinary control system both pedals are arranged apart from each other. There might be, however, an occasion in which the short delay leads to a traffic accident.
Also, it is almost impossible to apply such strong operating force to the accelerator of the pedal device for clockwise turning as applied to the conventional stepping-on type accelerator. Even though a certain strength of force can be applied in a moment, it would be very difficult to apply the strength of force continuously for a while or repeatedly while driving; the driver would be tired from operating the composite pedal device while driving.
In view of the above, one object of the present invention is to provide an accelerator and brake pedal device which is so designed that the braking action can be attained instantly by stepping on the brake pedal without the necessity of turning the foot about the heel to the rest position and without any time delay.
Another object is to provide an accelerator and brake pedal device which is responsive to application of a reduced force for turning toward accelerator-operative position, thus facilitating operation of the accelerator.